


Oh my love, don't forsake me.

by pseudofoucault333



Series: ROK Standalones [14]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A N00b attempt at an Avengers Fic, F/M, Probably not what the prompter had in mind....sorry, Reference to Iron Man Dance scene, What would happen in my mind if Tony and Pepper hadn't been together before, not exactly calm! Pepper, philosophical!Tony, very VERY OOC Tony...again I'm sorry D:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 05:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1732424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudofoucault333/pseuds/pseudofoucault333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's crash after trying to save the city, helps both him and Pepper realise how important the other is to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oh my love, don't forsake me.

**Title:** Oh my love, don't forsake me.  
**Author:** lovin_torture // Pseudofoucault333  
**Fandom:** The Avengers Movie verse  
**Pairing/character:** Pepper Potts/ Tony Stark  
**Rating:** T  
**Prompt & Prompter:** enmuse -> The Avengers, Tony Stark/Any (Pepper Potts), h/c, insecurity, trust, self-sacrifice, What the water gave me by Florence and the Machine.  
**Kink:** Hurt/Comfort, Trust, Self Sacrifice  
**Notes/Warnings:** Technically there is spoilers in the form of the end of the Avengers movie, since I kind of tweaked it a little to fit but nothing really damaging, and the crossover with Iron man (first movie) references is because it's the only one I've seen hence no other references to other Pepper/Tony bits in those movies. In this fic none of those bits happened in my head cannon and probably won't until I actually see them...also the POVs shift from one to another character but it will be more obvious which is which. I don't own or hold any claim to the characters etc all © to Marvel and there's been no betaing so if there's any mistakes it was my own fault :) 

 

The fall had been one the kind of which I couldn't remember ever experiencing before in my life. I had always been able to restart Jarvis when something like this had happened before, of course in every other occasion I had a fully charged suit, not one that was a dead and useless weight pulling me down to the ground at heart racing speed leaving me along for the ride with no control, the kind of situation I hate being in.  
I could feel my weakened heart trying with all its strength to keep me conscious as my metal encased body hit the ground, but soon the inevitable occurred and while I grimaced for the impact of my shattered body against the tarmac in the middle of a New York City road it was bone shatteringly worse than I could have ever anticipated. Whatever consciousness I had managed to keep hold of was like the tips of fingers over the edge of a cliff to stop me from falling to my doom and soon it was gone, my mind pulling me into darkness.

The whole time, I can assume medics were surrounding me and my team mates coming to my aid, all I could think of was things that mattered. I truly felt like I had forsaken what really mattered for things that didn’t. The money, the cars, the charity balls and the numerous women who came and went from my bed, none of it mattered more than being alive. And it was no real surprise that the first thing that mattered, the only one both my heart and head seemed to agree on was a beautiful redhead who had been my professional and personal rock when I needed her. The same redhead whose love of shoes was more than worth the sass and understanding that the two of us seemed to share, who could look absolutely stunning in a designer dress and have every man in the room’s eyes on her even if she seemed completely oblivious and focused on keeping me mature. The one steady relationship I had in my life and yet it was the one that I had never really given much thought to before.

True Pepper was an employee but she was a person I couldn't see myself without. If she left the company I would have no way to keep her around, and there was a good chance of that happening if whatever state of disrepair my body was in took months to fix. Though to be fair the Pepper I knew would never leave me in the lurch when I needed her the most and she would do everything for the company while I got better. But only because that’s the kind of person she was….not because she liked me….or even knew how I felt. Anthony Stark was never one to just say what he was feeling so easily after all.

Whoever had found me, and taken me for medical attention, seemed to have found the true extent of the damage. I can’t say for certain how I was sure of that fact but it didn’t take a genius whether trapped in his immobile metal encased body or not to figure that out. But now that my mind was filled with Pepper, thinking of her and everything that I had with her but what I actually wanted it seemed to keep me occupied through the infinite coma I would undoubtedly be kept in while the suit was dismantled to pieces, bones dismantled, my heart checked as a matter of urgency and all that came with it.

Each little memory like was like a scrap from a patchwork quilt being sewed together, each one of a different part of her, a different outfit she wore, a different pair of heels making her legs look amazing, a different smile, a different tone she said anyone of my three names in. It wasn’t going to be anything compared to the real thing, but for now it would do, and I would cherish everything I could remember until I could regain that desperately craved ability to see the real thing.

~xox ~

The crash had been just the thing I was afraid would happen if Tony had got involved into the Avengers initiative. I had just never imagined to what extent. When I had seen on the news, the footage of Tony’s Iron clad body falling like a tonne of bricks through the air without any of its usual flare and elegance I had had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach which had worsened to hands around my neck when the footage finished with him falling into the middle of the road, a crater surrounding his lifeless body.

I had had Maria hill on the phone in a matter of seconds telling me which hospital he was being taken to after the S.H.I.E.L.D reconnaissance team had moved in as the other Avengers found each other. I had merely agreed to meet them there for any medical history they would need to know, though I didn’t doubt they would have known most of it anyway and were only informing me out of common curtsey if nothing else. And though I was at the Stark tower trying to work things out for the rebuild, let alone working Stark industries single-handedly I got someone lower down the food chain to work with Media statements and the like while I made my way there.

The sight of Tony’s body dropping to the ground like a lead balloon refused to erase itself from my thoughts or my vision while Happy drove me to the hospital, the atmosphere in the car seemingly tenser than normal without his jokes or Tony’s usual anecdotes to lighten the tension. I think he could tell as much as I could how there was the possibility of any number of things going wrong. Any number of things and there would be no more Tony Stark….and while on my bad days he was a pain in the side like a child constantly high on sugar and suffering ADHD he made things interesting….and I couldn't imagine my life without him.

That thought struck me in the chest and caused my eyes to widen as my heart sunk into my stomach at what that could even mean. True there had always been an attraction between me and Tony, one mostly built on flirtation and a professional relationship but even I would have to be an idiot to have not picked up on the way he looked at me and the glint in his eye when I was around. And while every woman I had had to extricate from his bed the morning after had seemed like a shot through the heart that the Tony I knew seemed to have thought he was so worthless in relationships that it was the only kind he deserved I had seen the soft side to him. It was that side that didn’t make the thought so unbelievable…even though now was not the perfect time to dwell on it.

“We’re here Miss Potts.” Happy said softly, weaving the car through the cloud of paparazzi, TV cameras and Newspaper reporters hanging around the entrance to the hospital. As though they had got a tip off and had expected me to come. 

“Thanks Happy. Don’t park up….I’ll just get a cab back into the city.” I said, pushing my professional front on as I gathered my bag with a few things I knew Tony would have wanted and opened the back door.

It was chaos, they hounded me with questions like they thought I would slip up if didn’t give me a chance to breathe. But it was only the sight of the red-headed woman I’d seen Tony with before and a rather pale looking doctor hovering at the doorway to give me an escape that I quickly entered, relieved when the redhead cast them a glare while she leaned against the inside wall leaving me to turn my attention to the doctor.

“Where’s his room?” I asked, seeming to pull him from his thoughts and gesture for me to follow him as though afraid if he said anything it would only make things worse.

It was only when we got to the room that I spotted the other Avengers hanging around outside the room as though wanting to get any news they could first hand. A couple of agents in black suits were hovering outside the room as though hoping to weed out any paparazzi trying to get in under false pretences.

“Ah, Miss Potts. Thank you for coming.” Maria Hill’s voice pulled me away from the sight before me of two brunette males sitting on the floor outside the room, one in a star spangled banner outfit and the other in leather with another rather buff blonde-haired man on a small cell phone to someone, his voice bouncing off the walls with every few syllables he spoke. 

“Of course, am I allowed in to speak with the doctors or….” I paused when I saw her bite her lip and shake her head as though the sight of Tony’s broken body would be more than even the strongest stomached woman could handle.

“I’m sorry Pepper, it’s just too delicate at the moment…they’re still trying to establish all his injuries. While the suit took most of the impact of the fall, he has been kept in a medically induced coma for the time being but even with his X-ray they still have to check each fracture and break for seriousness.” 

“And his heart?” I asked, setting the bag of Tony’s things down beside the two men on the floor.

“It’s still hanging in there. The doctors have been made aware of his heart’s issues and are keeping a close watch on it with the help of Dr Banner.”

As I watched Maria walk away I heard a chair being set beside the two seated men, and looked up to see Dr Banner offering it to me with a weak smile, like he knew it wouldn't fix Tony any faster but regardless I appreciated the thought and showed him as such a small smile before he disappeared after Maria. I sunk into the chair, not knowing how I was going to be able to make myself stay there for the next however many hours, but for the time being turned my gaze to my cell phone in an attempt to distract my mind. It was only once I was in work mode again, while replying to messages from the Personal Relations department as well as sort and answer Tony’s emails which Jarvis had long since given me a back door to, that the time began to fly a little easier.

It seemed like we sat there for hours, every so often one of the Avengers would make a run to the cafeteria for some kind of food or a coffee run with a SHIELD agent in tow, but other than that the other Avengers would just stare at the wall opposite while Bruce came and went out of Tony’s room with other doctors herded around him talking about Tony’s condition. Natasha refused to leave the main entrance as though to keep any media member out that the Shield agents over looked and soon Thor stopped his phone call, refusing to leave any more than the others.

I appreciated their silent support and acts of kindness more than the black suited shield members who were only there because Maria had told them to be. But soon there were no more emails to sort, no more pieces of work I could do on tablet or phone alone and I too was left staring at the wall opposite just wondering what now? 

It wasn’t until the early hours of the next morning that Bruce reappeared from Tony’s room with a smile on his face that caused the rest of the team to look at him imploringly for some good news, for my sake if nothing else.

“What? Has something happened?” I asked, pushing my phone and tablet haphazardly into my bag as I got to my feet.

“It turns out that Tony’s suit took the most of the impact from the fall. And while the X-rays were showing multiple fractures and broken bones it was not as serious as we originally thought. So we’ll be slowly easing him out of his coma now, if you wanted to come in Pepper?” Bruce asked, gesturing towards the door he was keeping open with his foot.

I nodded without even needing to think about, but relieved when none of the other Avengers voiced an objection. I took the bag of Tony’s things from Steve when he offered it to me from the floor, before following Bruce’s lead.

The hospital room was dimly lit and the only bed inside had Tony’s lifeless body laid on it, hooked up to a heart monitor and a drip. His torso was wrapped around the ribs with bandages to keep them in place while they healed, but it was the sight of his Arc reactor dimly lit from his chest that assured me he was still alive any more than the heart monitor's beeps. 

I watched Bruce move to check the heart monitor while I set the bag of Tony’s things in the hospital locker until he woke up before sitting in the chair beside him, with my own handbag at my feet forgotten. It was hard to see him so still, the Tony Stark I knew was always on the move, yammering a hundred miles a minute, never sleeping or resting while his thoughts were filled with new ideas. I bit my lip as my gaze rested on his face, my hand itching to hold his hand though I don’t doubt Bruce would wonder what I was doing and why.

“So how long before the barbiturate wears off?” I asked, my gaze on Bruce who was still hovering at the other side of the bed making notes.

“A few hours at the most I’d say. I'm sure he’ll be relieved to see someone he knows when he wakes up.” Bruce said, putting Tony’s newly adjusted chart back at the end of his bed.

“What do I tell him about his suit?” I asked, knowing that the answer should be obvious but Tony had been very protective of every new model since he made the first, as Bruce moved back towards the door though paused at my voiced thoughts.

“I wouldn't worry about it Pepper. I'm sure he’ll understand that it was a necessity when it came to his rescue. Besides knowing Tony he’ll revel in the opportunity to build an upgrade.” He said reassuringly in a calming tone before leaving the room. 

The thud of the door closing quickly dulled to nothing, but the sound of the heart monitor beeping as it recorded Tony’s heart rate was soon the only thing I could hear. I was afraid that if I was left alone with him for too long something would happen but I knew Bruce wouldn't have left me alone with him if that was the case. I heard my phone buzzing in my bag and while I knew I should turn it off so it didn’t interfere with Tony’s heart monitor I settled for just ignoring it, not even moving my gaze to my bag as my hand rested on the nearest of Tony’s to me. 

My fingertips softly grazed over the back of his hand, as though hoping if I did it enough it would wake him faster. Instead I was left to just watch over him, my body becoming increasingly tired as the caffeine I’d drunk began to wear off and I knew I couldn't ignore it any more. And while the urge to go home to sleep after getting one of those people outside to take my place, I would not be able to get a wink of sleep while I was away from him, worrying that something would happen and I wouldn't be there.

Then like an overly concerned family member, I found myself leaning over on the bed beside him, my head rested on my outstretched forearm as my eyes finally gave up the ghost and drifted closed. At least this way if Tony did wake up, he would probably wake me too...even if I did look a fright.

~xox ~

I could feel my consciousness slowly being restored, baby steps as every thought of Pepper became see through like glass and then faded as though my mind was readying itself to see the real thing. Soon the only memory I was left with was the sight of her in that gorgeous dark blue dress that night we danced together at the charity ball when I turned up out of the blue. She had looked amazingly perfect, the kind of perfect I had only ever seen my wife….if I ever married…looking.

And then that too had faded. I could feel my eyelids like weights opening a little bit at a time, until I was staring at a darkened ceiling in a hospital room. I opened and closed my eyes a few time in succession to clear my blurred vision and to assure myself I was really awake before the rest of my weary senses began to catch up. My ears could hear a heart monitor, bleeping away beside me and my nose could definitely smell the sterile disinfectant smell that I had always associated with hospitals over the years. My mouth tasted of nothing, no blood or water which was a good sign…well about the lack of blood anyway. 

But it was only when I went to move my hands that I felt a brush of soft skin and looked down to see a sleeping Pepper beside me, her hand clasping mine loosely as her fingertips continued to graze back and forth over the back of my right hand. I moved my left hand over my heart and was relieved to see that the reactor was still going, but the sight of Pepper holding my hand let alone the fact that the person I had been thinking off the whole time I was unconscious was beside me made a small smile come to my lips.

While I wanted to wake her, make some pretentious comment about not being able to find good staff these days which would cause her to glare at me, after what had happened and what I realised I felt for her, I didn’t have it in me. She looked peaceful and exhausted at the same time. What kind of monster would deprive her of that kind of peace?

Instead I shifted a little, hoping to sit up but the stab of pain through my torso quickly reminded me I had been in an incident and the bandages weren't just there for decoration. I grimaced and took a small deep breath to ease the pain a little as I grabbed the button to call a nurse with my left hand. I pressed the button twice and shifted a little more upright as a nurse along with the Bruce appeared, the latter of whom flashed a smile at me though raised an eyebrow at the sleeping form of Pepper.

“Hey big guy, want to give me the Lameman’s terms explanation as to what injuries I've got….aside from the obvious fractured ribs?” I asked as the nurse bustled around inserting another drip for morphine.

“That’s broken ribs Tony, not fractured. If they were fractured they wouldn't hurt so much.” Bruce said softly, as though hoping to avoid waking Pepper.

“Yeah, yeah, spare me the lecture. So broken ribs….?” I said, gesturing for him to continue which caused him to roll his eyes as the nurse administered a dose of morphine before leaving the room.

“Broken ribs, fractured knee cap from the impact with the tarmac…which is quite frankly a miracle, a fair few scrapes and bruises and a burn from your suit getting too hot against your forearm. And the obvious hairline scratch across your right cheek which isn’t going to scar before you make any wise cracks about needing a plastic surgeon.” Bruce said, hovering beside me.

“Wow, I really will need to look more into safety for the next suit….assuming of course I’ll need to build a new suit?” I asked, looking up at Bruce who rolled his eyes good-naturedly but nodded.

“Yes you will, we had to take the old one apart just to pry your body from the shell. Shield has taken the pieces to their headquarters since Fury thought you’d want to maybe recycle them for your next version.” 

“Well waste not want not.” I nodded, wishing I had a tablet or something on me so I could at least begin to draw up the new design while I was bedridden.

“So…what’s the deal with you and Pepper?” Bruce asked, causing my train of thought to be interrupted as I looked back up at him and saw him jerking his head at our held hands.

“Nothing. She was probably just tried from waiting around for me to wake up.” I shrugged, though the way he looked at me it was like he knew something more than either of us was willing to tell.

“You want me to wake her?” He asked, moving towards her causing me eyes to widen as I shook my head.

“No! She needs her rest….and will never forgive either of us if we disrupt her.” I said a little too quickly, watching a smile creep over Bruce’s face.

“Ok, if that’s what you want Tony. The others are hanging around and want to talk to you before they leave to get some rest. I'm sure they’ll be quiet while Pepper sleeps, you want me to send them in?” he asked, as he made his way towards the door.

“Yeah I guess. And I'm guessing someone from Shield is around with paperwork I need to fill in too, might as well send them in too.” I sighed, watching him nod before leaving. 

The next couple of hours was spent with me being lectured by every member of our little group, each telling me in their own way that I had been stupid to push my suit when I knew there was little power left. That going all kamikaze was not something the Avengers was about and if something more serious had happened to me none of them would have been able to forgive themselves. Each time I nodded, made understanding noises as though assuring them it would never happen again, and then they would leave after promising to come back later to check on me. It was a miracle that none of them woke Pepper, especially Thor, but she was still sleeping peacefully with her hand in mine when Maria Hill left me with paperwork to fill out for an incident report.

By the time lunch time hit, Pepper was finally stirring as I was picking at what the hospital constituted as food, which for me was just plain cruel, and while I was deciding whether or not to get Bruce to get me some coffee that I saw Pepper’s eyelids begin to flicker. I watched as her body stiffened and her gaze rested on our still interlaced hands, before she pushed herself upright in her chair.

“Tony?” she said softly, her hand not moving from mine even though she knew I was conscious.

“Hi Pepper.” I said with a small smile as our gazes met, her face flushing a little like she knew she probably looked a frightful state in my eyes but at that moment in time she looked like the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

“When did you….?” She stopped mid sentence but it was more than obvious what she was asking.

“About five am. I was still getting to terms with all my injuries and coming out the coma.” I said, hoping that that explanation if nothing else would tell her why it was that I hadn't woke her. If anything it seemed from where she was sitting it left more important questions unanswered.

“But….you didn’t wake me. I thought for sure that was something you would do.” She said, rubbing her free hand at her eye, as though the Tony she knew would have done just that. Demanded coffee, Jarvis, anything instead of just leaving her to sleeping.

“You looked so peaceful.” I said, brushing my thumb over the back of her hand and feeling her gaze following the gesture.

“Oh…” She seemed a little stumped at that moment, like she didn’t know what to say or do now that I had caught her doing something so personal and intimate, but when I didn’t elaborate any more she quickly pulled her hand away from mine and began to ramble about what she had brought me from home.

My hand felt empty now without hers in it, but I tried not to let it show, nodding when she mentioned clearing out my inbox for me and rearranging my schedule for the next couple of months while I rehabilitated. Taking the clothes she offered me from the bag and the tablet she had thought to pack to keep me from going crazy while bedridden. But all those little things didn’t matter, only it was as though Pepper thought every single thing I would have asked for was more important than her mere presence in front of me.

I think she could tell my mind wasn’t on what she was saying any more when I didn’t take my cell phone from her but instead slid my hand into her free one causing her to bite her lip as she met my gaze. This time I was the unsure one, the one who didn’t know what the other was thinking, if Pepper would ask me what I was doing jokingly or pretend it had never happened. But the look on her face seemed to tell me she knew what I was doing.

“None of it matters Pepper.” I said, my voice sounding hoarse and unsure as she put my phone down beside me.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her gaze rested on our hands as though she was sure this was going to be some insightful spiel that ended up being nothing but a joke.

“The whole time I was falling to earth, the whole time I was waiting for the impending crash and unconsciousness while the doctors worked on me I wasn’t thinking of the suit I wanted picking up for me, the car I want to drive home from the hospital or even the fact I left my phone at Stark Tower.” I said, my gaze flitting over her beautiful face and those lips I wanted nothing more than to kiss.

“Then what were you thinking of?” She asked, finally making herself look up at me.

“You.” I whispered, watching as the flush reappeared over her cheeks and her fingertips brushed over my knuckles. “The whole time I was in that coma I was thinking of you Pepper, how much I have always taken you for granted, how I have always wanted there to be more between us than there is. And thinking back on that now, that is worth more than all the money in my bank account.”

A smile spread over her face as though she knew everything I had just said was a little clichéd and cheesy, but it worked for her. And there was some truth for it on her side too. And while I would have loved nothing more than to pull her mouth to my own, with my ribs hurting as much as they did, she seemed to take that responsibility away from me. Her free hand rested on my chin as she moved closer on the bed, and her lips softly grazed against my own. It was the purest kiss I had ever tasted, but it was definitely one those kisses I would live for; for the rest of my life.

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh and FYI, I know little if anything about medical procedures, or the real injures that a body would go through from such a big impact. But let's just say Tony's suit would be more than up for taking the most of the impact, ergo saving his physical body a lot of the potentially more serious ones shall we? ;)


End file.
